R4 Preview: Adelaide 36ers vs Sydney Kings

Saturday, February 6, 2021

Can Casper and the Kings bounce back and turn the table on a red-hot Isaac Humphries and the 36ers?

When: 8pm (AEDT), Saturday 6 February

Where: Adelaide Entertainment Centre

Broadcast: ESPN; Sky Sports NZ; SBS On Demand; Twitch

The last time
Adelaide 85 (Humphries 27, Johnson 16, Crocker 13, Dech 13) d Sydney 80 (Vasiljevic 28, Ware 15, Martin 13), Round 3, Adelaide Entertainment Centre

A Donald Sloan quarter-time buzzer-beater sparked a 19-1 run – with Isaac Humphries and Sloan contributing 14 points – that left Sydney chasing for the remainder of the contest. DJ Vasiljevic was outstanding with 28 points on an array of pull-ups, floaters and trifectas to keep the Kings in touch. However, when the visitors closed within three points in the third term, Daniel Johnson led an 18-4 Adelaide run that ultimately secured the win.

The now
That was the 36ers’ fourth W in five games, charging back from their horror opening-night performance to stamp themselves as playoff contenders. While the COVID-impacted draw has been kind to Connor Henry’s men – their first seven outings at home and six of those against teams who have played fewer games – the reality is they have the runs on the board and head into this rematch full of confidence, particularly at the defensive end.

For a team missing the quality of Xavier Cooks, Didi Louzada and Daniel Kickert, the Kings have shown some serious heart, their three losses coming by a total of nine points. Last week they lacked the offensive options to post a winning score, the 36ers restricting Jarell Martin’s supply and applying the heat to Casper Ware. While Vasiljevic and Brad Newley capitalised, coach Adam Forde needs more role players to stand tall this time around.

The stats

- Vasiljevic and Newley combined for 39 points, making 16 field goals at 53 per cent. The rest of their teammates managed 41 points, making 14 field goals at 35 per cent

- In the Kings’ win over Cairns, Martin took 21 shots in 24 minutes. In their two losses since he’s managed a total of 24 shots in almost 62 minutes

- The 36ers average the fewest three-point attempts (19.7 compared to 29.1 for the rest of the league) and the most free-throw attempts (23.5 compared to 17.4 for all other teams)

- Last season the Kings held opponents to 45ppg from two-point range at 47 per cent. Last round, Adelaide took them for 58 points inside the arc at 55 per cent

The key men
Casper Ware – When Ware has shot 40 per cent on better from deep, the Kings are an elite 8-1 over the past two seasons, compared a middle-of-the-pack 16-13 when he doesn’t. What really seems to hurt the Kings though, is when Ware’s dual responsibilities at both ends of the floor wear him down, as his ability to disrupt opposition guards is a key to Sydney forcing tough shots, cleaning the defensive glass and running.

Ware debuted in Melbourne aged 27 and could comfortably give 32 minutes per game as an energetic two-way force. He is now 31 and being asked to do that for 34 minutes – up from 30 last season due to Sydney’s injury woes – so could reducing his time or modifying his offensive role so he can rule the defensive roost longer be an effective recipe?

Isaac Humphries – Ice is only 23 and full of energy, unleashing the level of basketball he always knew he had in him, and surprising many with his elite performance at the defensive end. While there was criticism of Humphries’ defence and toughness as an NBL rookie, it is easy to forget he was a 19-year-old taking on grown men like Matt Knight, Nick Kay, Angus Brandt and Josh Boone.

He’s one of the biggest beasts in the jungle now though, and his past four games have delivered 23ppg at 65 per cent, 8.3rpg and 3.5bpg. Last week against Sydney he hit 13-of-19 from two point range – with every basket in the paint and six right at the rim – so expect the Kings to make a focus of forcing him away from the hoop and forcing someone else to beat them, if they can!

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">OK, ISAAC.<a href="https://twitter.com/IsaacHumphries7?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IsaacHumphries7</a> turning the Adelaide Entertainment Centre into a BIG TOP ? with the circus shot.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SYDatADL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SYDatADL</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL21?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL21</a> <a href="https://t.co/yDkX1Ylfbm">pic.twitter.com/yDkX1Ylfbm</a></p>— The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1355449791635832832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The quotes
It may have been their third loss from four games to start the new Hungry Jack’s NBL season, but the glass is very much half-full as far as the Kings are concerned.

“It’s definitely challenging. The great thing about this group is we don’t need to motivate them externally with anything, they're all professionals and they know what needs to be done,” coach Adam Forde said after their five-point loss to the 36ers.

“We’ve had a couple of real close games now, obviously we dug ourselves a bit of a hole in this one, but to walk away having made it a two-possession game again is a testament to their character.”

The reality is the Kings have only been outscored by one point across their four outings, and any observer would have been impressed by their fight in Adelaide last round.

“In that fourth quarter we didn’t give up, we showed that fight that we have and that’s something to build on for the next game,” Casper Ware said.

Indeed, while Casper’s three-point stroke remains a ghost of its past deadliness despite one night out in the win over Cairns, it was his intensity that set the table for Sydney’s surge last week.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Casper giving the Next Star a scare ?<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SYDatADL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SYDatADL</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL21?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL21</a> <a href="https://t.co/8sngInEOTo">pic.twitter.com/8sngInEOTo</a></p>— The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1355465020377690117?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

In the NBL’s season opener, Melbourne United’s guards exposed Josh Giddey’s handles under pressure, but no team had repeated that dose until Ware stepped in.

Getting up in the Next Star’s grill in the final stanza, Ware effectively took Giddey’s playmaking game out of the contest as Sydney forced six turnovers in seven minutes to charge within five points of an unlikely win.

“(We) found ourselves down 17 in the fourth, and then we just started trying to full-court press,” Forde said.

“A 14-2 run we made it a ball game, but unfortunately we just ran out of legs and ran out of minutes at the end.”

That pressure-inspired burst left Connor Henry with plenty to think about ahead of the rematch, with Giddey and Donald Sloan both susceptible to pressure D, but the veteran coach appears comfortable with the team approach that steadied the ship late.

“We didn’t handle the pressure, they got up into us, we got a little tired,” Henry said.

“Josh had a couple of possessions there we he didn’t read the pressure, didn’t handle it the best. As a group we handled much better when we played catch, when two guys come at you just back off, throw it to your teammate and relieve the pressure, and we were able to do that. Then the ball found Josh and he made the right read.”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">That Giddey-Humphries One-Two ? though.<a href="https://twitter.com/Adelaide36ers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Adelaide36ers</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SYDatADL?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SYDatADL</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL21?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL21</a> <a href="https://t.co/pCJybPvQrp">pic.twitter.com/pCJybPvQrp</a></p>— The NBL (@NBL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBL/status/1355466428103548929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 30, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

While Ware’s defence was influential, at the other end he wasn’t able to consistently get scoring machine Jarell Martin into the game, leaving the Kings a weapon down.

A glance at the boxscore reveals that 36ers recruit Sunday Dech spent 37:46 on court, and according to Henry that’s because he is their best antedote to Ware.

“He’s our best defender, he can guard smalls, at a pinch he can guard bigs down low, so I have to have my best defender on the floor as much as I can,” Henry said.

“He only really comes out if he raises his hand and he rarely does that, sometimes I have to press him on it.

“He did a great job tonight on Casper and the others, he’s our lead dog out there guarding everybody.”